Brex Inc.
Market Data Current As Of: September 12, 2026
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Brex Inc.
Compare market positioning with top industry peers
Explore Brex
Core profile pages, annual revenue records, and related research hubs for this company.
Company History
Founded 2017 in San Francisco, California, United States
Brex was founded in 2017 by Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi, two teenage coding prodigies from Brazil who met over a heated argument on Twitter (now X) regarding emacs versus vim. Before age twenty, they built Pagar.me—the 'Stripe of Brazil'—scaling it to over 100 employees and processing $1.5 billion annually before selling the company in a multi-million-dollar acquisition. They relocated to Silicon Valley to attend Stanford University, quickly dropping out after being accepted into Y Combinator's Winter 2017 batch. Initially, they attempted to build a virtual reality headset company called Beyond. However, while talking to other startup founders in YC, they repeatedly heard the same agonizing complaint: despite having just raised millions in seed funding, founders could not get a corporate credit card from legacy commercial banks without putting down personal guarantees or risking their personal credit scores. Realizing that the banking industry was broken for modern tech companies, Dubugras and Franceschi abandoned VR, built the prototype for Brex in three weeks, and launched the first corporate card that underwrote companies based on dynamic cash balances rather than legacy credit scores. In early 2017, two 20-year-old Brazilian founders—Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi—arrived at Stanford University. Having already built and sold Brazilian payment gateway Pagar.me for tens of millions of dollars, they dropped out to join Y Combinator. They initially planned to build virtual reality headsets, but hit a wall trying to set up their US business: commercial banks refused to give them a corporate credit card because they had no US credit history. When they discovered that every founder in their YC batch was swiping personal credit cards to pay for thousands of dollars in AWS server bills, they dropped the VR idea over a weekend and founded Brex. By building the first corporate card that underwrote startups based on cash balances without personal guarantees, they unleashed a financial revolution that transformed Silicon Valley forever.
Pedro Franceschi is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Brex Inc. After entering Stanford University in 2016, Franceschi and Dubugras dropped out within months to join Y Combinator (W17). Initially attempting to build a virtual reality headset startup, Franceschi pivoted to create Brex after realizing how difficult it was for international founders to obtain a US corporate credit card. A master software architect, Franceschi authored Brex's core payment processing systems and designed the multi-currency Empower spend management platform. In 2024, Franceschi assumed sole CEO leadership, steering Brex past $300 million in annual recurring revenue with disciplined operational excellence. Franceschi's extraordinary systems engineering mastery was the technological engine that made Brex possible. An elite programmer who jailbroke iPhones as a child and built Brazil's premier payment gateway before age twenty, Franceschi authored Brex's core payment processing systems, built the real-time cash risk models, and designed the multi-currency Empower spend management platform. In 2024, Franceschi assumed sole CEO leadership, steering Brex past $300M ARR with disciplined operational excellence.
Henrique Dubugras is the co-founder and Chairman of Brex Inc. An extraordinary commercial strategist and visionary marketer, Dubugras was the driving force behind Brex's legendary San Francisco billboard marketing blitz and startup ecosystem domination. Alongside Franceschi, Dubugras raised over $1.5 billion in equity capital from Tiger Global, Greenoaks, and DST Global, scaling Brex to a peak $12.3 billion valuation. In 2024, Dubugras transitioned to the role of Chairman of the Board, focusing on long-term corporate governance, strategic M&A, and public IPO preparations. Dubugras's bold commercial vision and marketing audacity made Brex a household name across the global technology ecosystem. A master dealmaker who co-founded Pagar.me at age 16, Dubugras orchestrated the famous 2018 San Francisco billboard blitz, raised over $1.5 billion in equity capital at a $12.3B peak valuation, and led Brex through hyper-growth. As Chairman of the Board, Dubugras guides long-term corporate governance, strategic alliances, and public IPO preparations.
Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi launched Brex out of Y Combinator W17 to reinvent corporate credit.
Raised $125 million Series C led by Greenoaks Capital, reaching a $1.1B valuation.
Expanded beyond credit cards into FDIC-insured business accounts and startup venture debt financing.
Raised $425 million led by Tiger Global, scaling corporate card spend across enterprise tech firms.
Secured $300 million at a $12.3B valuation and launched Brex Empower spend management platform.
Franceschi assumed sole CEO leadership, streamlining operations and focusing on global enterprise expansion.
Surpassed $320M ARR powered by Brex Empower enterprise software licensing and international card volume.
Acquired the financial planning, runway tracking, and budgeting software platform for early-stage and high-growth startups.
Acquired automated video and digital design software technology.
Since its establishment in 2017, Brex Inc. expanded from an early-stage venture into a recognized leader in Corporate Credit Cards, Spend Management Software & Global Enterprise Banking, overcoming key market challenges.
Over its history, Brex Inc. executed decisive strategic pivots toward scalable monetization and digital distribution, securing its current market leadership.
By continually modernizing operations and embracing workflow automation, Brex Inc. maintains resilience through changing technological and economic cycles.